Cassie Dannacher wakes up in a hospital over 1,000 years into the future after her space capsule is retrieved from space. She soon learns that 600 years prior to her arrival, the earth was struck by a plague, killing over half of the world’s population. Naïve and desperate, Cassie, who longs for home and is having trouble adjusting to the new, dictatorial 31st century government, is comforted by Michael Bennett, the 20-year old lead geneticist at the hospital where she was revived.

But why is Cassie in genetics’ hospital in the first place, and why do several of the people around her seem so familiar, including Travel Carson, the hot and edgy boy she is fated to meet? Soon she discovers there is a sinister answer to all of her questions – and that they want something from Cassie that only she can give.

My Review:
I'm happy to be kicking our this tour so let's get into it. This book was not what I was expecting. Actually I don't really know what I was expecting. Cassie wakes up a thousand years later to find out that everyone she has ever know has died. The world has changed so drastically and now she is told that she is the key to saving all of humanity. Talk about a quilt trip. I do not envy Cassie at all.

This is a medium paced book. It is slowed down by the world building. Once you read this book ask the question what I do if I was in this situation. I'm not sure what I would have done but I know I would have been more upset than she was and that would be with everyone. I felt like she gave in too easily. This novel goes along with the trend of dystopian novels where there has been some devastating event and the resulting world is perfect on the surface but underside is quite ugly. In the end, I have mixed feelings about this. I like it but the reactions was a bit off for me at times. Honestly, at times I was downright pissed off. That is why this book gets a 3 star rating. It may not have been what i wanted but the fact that I was pissed means I was involved in the story.

Should you read it? Yes. Who should read it? Fans of dystopian.

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About the Author
My debut YA novel, Amateur Angel, was released May 1, 2012. The next book in that series, Hollywood Angels, comes out September 1. The first book in my upcoming dystopian trilogy, The Van Winkle Chronicles, will be released by Entangled Publishing Summer 2013.

In post-apocalyptic North America, rape and sexual slavery are legal. Lila Velez, desperately wants to lose her virginity before the troops visit her town and can take it away by force. She makes plans to seduce her only friend, Rey, the most attractive man in her town. Lila does not love him but he is the only man who has shown her true affection, an affection she is willing to take as a substitute of love.

Lila’s coping mechanism to her mother’s rape and kidnapping is her secret. A secret that will bring her closer to Aleksey, a foreign, broody man. Lila does not trust him because his links to the troops and his rough, yet irresistible appearance. Aleksey offers Lila an alternative to her plans, a possibility that terrifies her…and tempts her in spite of herself.

All the while Lila will have to find a way to live in the constant company of death, slavery, starvation, sexual abuse and the danger of losing the people she loves the most.

This book is recommended for readers over the age of 18 due to strong language and sexual content.

Queen Rhiannon and her Hive have found safety on John Wayne Station, but with no way to pay their docking fees or Victor’s medical bills, their debts are racking up quickly. Thankfully, Gavin gets a job with American Space Ranger M3L-15-A, who’s hot on the trail of dangerous criminals.

The teens move in with their Ranger benefactor, but when they revisit their ship to pick up personal belongings, they realize their Alcubierre tensor jet has been stolen!

If Rhiannon and her Hivemates ever hope to leave, they must find and steal back what’s theirs. But far from home and among strangers, who can they trust? Will they be stuck on John Wayne for the rest of their lives?

My Review:
This is not a stand alone book. To fully understand what it going on, read the first book , as this continues right where book 1 leaves off. This I felt had more action. There is a continuation of the storyline from book 1 but still there are some other things going on to keep things interesting.

The characters continued to grow. You can really see how they have changed from when they were first introduced in the first book. This is a better pace book than the previous. This is probably because there is less world building that the author has to do.

Should you read it? Yes. Who should read it? Dystopian/sci-fi fans and those you read the first book. Who shouldn't read it? Those who haven't read the first book.

On a world where high school test scores determine your future, six students rebel. They’ll outrun society as fast as their questionably obtained spaceship will take them.

Rhiannon doesn’t technically cheat the Test. She’s smarter than the computers that administer it, and she uses that to her advantage. She emerges from Test Day with the most prestigious future career possible: Hive Queen.

Gwyn & Victor are madly in love, but their Test results will tear them apart. Good thing Rhiannon is Gwyn’s best friend. Rhiannon can fix this. Queens can do anything.

Gavin is the wild card. Raised off-planet, he can’t wait to leave again... and he’s heard of an empty ship in orbit. The Ceridwen’s Cauldron.

Both Luciano and Alan fit in the system. They don’t need to leave. Only their devotion to Rhiannon spurs them to join the Cauldron’s crew.

Spaceships. Blackmail. Anywhere but here.

My Review:
Interesting book. In this book we meet the young crew of the Ceridwen. We are also thrown into this new off Earth planet. There is alot going on in this book. at times it is interesting and other times not so much. Some times world building can take away from the pace of a book. Speaking of pace this was a slow moving book. though I read it relatively fast had it not been for the fact that I am get ahead of my reading schedule it would have probably took me around a week or so.

The characters are likable. They show development through the book. The story is interesting. You know that there is going to be a second book and though it lagged about times it did make me want to read the second one.

Should you read it? Yes. Who should read it? Dystopian/Sci-fi fans. Who shouldn't read it? Those who are all about the science. This to me is still a character driven novel.

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AUTHOR BIO

Janine A. Southard writes and edits speculative fiction in between working on videogame projects. She’s attended more than the average number of universities, which she claims is a FEATURE. (“Oxford educated, but Californian at heart.”) She’s also lived and traveled in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Currently, she lives in Seattle with a husband (and a cat) and sings with a Celtic band.

Friday, June 27, 2014

“Never Far Away” is my first crack at writing a New Adult/Contemporary Romance novel. My resume includes 3 YA novels, and I was ready to branch out and expand my style and audience.

2- What inspired you to write this novel?

A real life event inspired this novel. I took a real situation—two neighbors fighting over seats on the back of the bus in elementary school, never really agreeing on anything, and placed these two antagonist characters years

down the road. What happens? How are they different? The same? They share history, but can they share a future?

3- What book are you reading now?

Currently I am reading short stories in Spanish and meeting with a great group of ladies once a month to discuss them. Hablamos en español todo el tiempo y me encanta.

4- If you could have breakfast with anyone past or present who would you choose, and why?

I would choose my mother. She died when I was in my early twenties and so much has happened in my life since then that I’d love to share with her—I finished college, got my first job, got married, and had kids. I’d love to see the look on her face when I told her I’m a writer too. I’ll never forget the day back in high school when she drove me to school and I suddenly remembered I had written an essay on a whim for a contest and it was due that day—typed. (This was before computers were in every household). My mom sighed and took the essay to work and typed it for me and dropped it off at school, and I won. She was proud of me then and I’m sure she’d be proud of me know. After breakfast I’d like to have her show me how to make an apple pie with her homemade crust because that’s something I miss.

5- What’s your favorite dessert?

My mom’s homemade apple pie, of course.

5- How would you describe yourself in three words?

Creative, Happy, and Kind.

BIO:

Marysue G Hobika grew up in Caledonia, NY and attended SUNY at Buffalo where she studied to be a Spanish teacher. Currently she lives in Pittsford, NY with her husband, three children, and her two pugs.

She has learned that stories don’t write themselves and tries to make time every day to sit down and write. She does her best thinking while in the shower, driving her kids around, or right before she falls asleep. She keeps a moleskin notebook handy that a dear friend gave her as a gift, so that if an idea occurs she can write it down.

She doesn’t know where this journey will take her, but she has a lot of characters and stories floating around inside her head waiting to be brought to life.

At 23, Morgan is a little behind other women her age when it comes to dating and relationships. More specifically, she’s a virgin. Dating wasn’t a priority in high school and college, but now that Morgan has a job and her own apartment, she’s ready to jump back into the dating scene.

When Morgan’s friends at work inform her that most men expect sex on the third date, she panics. She’s convinced her lack of experience will be a total turn-off for guys and make for a really awkward third date. Her friends tell her to just do it with a random guy to get it over with, but Morgan isn’t sure that’s what she wants.

When she meets a guy she’s certain is her dream man, she’s ready to lose it on their third date. But doing so isn’t as easy as she thought. And then there’s the fact that she can’t get another guy out of her head.

Through a series of mishaps and misunderstandings, Morgan eventually finds herself at a place she wasn’t expecting, but the place she wanted to be all along.

Dylan Blackard is back in town and certain everyone knows his secrets.

Putting away his notorious reputation as the wild guy with a womanizing past, he’s now on a new path, wanting to be the good guy his brother can stop worrying over. As long as he gives up his old vices—including women—he can keep himself on the straight and narrow and finally live up to everyone’s expectations.

However, obsessing about his lack of self-control is making Dylan one humorless, cranky hermit. That all changes, though, when his brother hires a new employee, the stunning Emma Keller, who will be sharing an office with him and all of his tightly wound nerves.

Emma, a spunky young woman from New Jersey, isn’t about to feel sorry for Dylan and his situation. She is beyond distracting to him, and that is enough to turn his emotional balancing act upside down. Not only is she intelligent, and a smart aleck, she’s also very determined to pull the sexy Dylan Blackard out of his self-imposed isolation.

From the moment he meets her, he feels alive again, but Emma doesn’t come as a gift with a pretty bow; she comes with major baggage—a family embedded in its own tumultuous history.

Will Emma be the tipping point that causes Dylan to regress into his past destructive behaviors…or will he actually pursue her for keeps?

*Due to adult language and sexual content, this New Adult Contemporary Romance is intended for readers over the age of 18

My Review:

See that note above? Yes indeed. This book has some serious sex scenes. While reading this grab a fan, a glass of ice water, and have your mate on standby! I like Emma. She is strong and sensitive. Dylan now that is a bad boy. He's the kind of guy who you would think you would want to stay away from. The kind of problems he is dealing with could make a person think it is best to leave him be. However, Emma thinks that it is him who should be running for the hills. The sparks fly between them right from the beginning. This book has good characters, a good story line, and great sex. You become emotionally involved which is a good thing if you have someone to let those feelings release with maybe not so good if you are single. Hey may pay a little visit to Adam & Eve. What?! Just a suggestion. If it wasn't for the fact that I read this for a blog tour this would definitively be a post on a new feature I'm working on WRI After Dark.Should you read it? Yes Who should read it? Those who don't mind detailed sex scenes. Who shouldn't read it? Those you like clean books.

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AUTHOR BIO

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S. A. Wolfe lives with her very loud, opinionated children and husband. She is a voracious reader and passionate about writing, and when those two activities don’t keep her locked away in her room, she loves roaming the streets of New York City. Sometimes she even hikes mountains, but most of the time she finds excellent ways to procrastinate.

About Me

Born in the South, lived in the Northeast, and now living back in the South has created this diversity of culture and interests in me. I love creativity and it shows. I am friendly so leave comments, suggestions, and/or tips.

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